IAMN 22: ListenPages is Here!
Episode Overview In episode #22 of IAMN: I am Northbound, Jayson talks about; Instagram being a flaming dumpster fire, your free ListenPages account and a new music industry scam that you need to watch out for. Segment #1: Yes, Instagram Sucks at the Moment In this segment of IAMN: I Am Northbound, I explain the current Instagram situation and how it may affect you as a music artist. Also, I go into why I hate having 10,000+ followers, and why you should want a lower follower count, too! Details Are you one of the music artists that have been unfairly shadowbanned by Instagram recently? Instagram have recently rolled out an algorithm change that is intended to fight automation and people who use bots. Unfortunately, though -- It's banning people that aren't doing anything wrong! In the last week, I've had multiple music artists contact me to ask why they were shadowbanned. I've also been shadowbanned on both of my accounts -- and I don't use automation! Hopefully Instagram gets their changes sorted and fixes this awful algorithm change and we can all get our reach back. But this algorithm emphasises something that a lot of people don't want to say: Having over 10,000 followers sucks! The only good thing is the swipe up feature. The rest is just lowered reach and inactive accounts! A lot of music artists are looking to grow their fanbase, and aspire to higher follower counts. But you lose so much reach as you grow (there are accounts with 10% of my followers that get the same engagement as I do), which is something you probably take for granted. I'd gladly give up all of my inactive followers and go back to just a thousand followers, if it meant that those thousand were active. So, don't blindly chase bigger audiences. Focus specifically on raising your engagement level, not your follower count. If you focus on that, you'll grow your audience the right way. And truth be told, Instagram might eventually end up removing followers just as they did likes, which means it will all mean nothing, anyway. Quality over quantity, always. Segment #2: Grow More, Connect More & Sell More Than Ever Before In this segment of IAMN: I Am Northbound, I tell you why your free account at ListenPages.com will be your new best friend. ListenPages is a brand new tool for the music industry -- And it will help your music grow more, connect more and sell more than ever before. Details So, ListenPages launched this week. And we want to give you a free account. We want to show you how this revolutionary tool can help your music grow more, connect more and sell more than ever before. "Sure, sure. What's the catch?" -- There is none. For real. Someone asked me the other day if you need credit card details and it made me laugh. Of course not! This is a 100% free account that you get to use for three months to test it out in the real world and see what it can do for your music. Now, what you'll be testing is more or less only 5% of what ListenPages will eventually become -- But we have to start somewhere, right? So, how does it work? Well, I can tell you now that if you aren't using ListenPages, you are essentially trying to grow your fanbase in the dark. You have no idea how many fans you have, how many true fans, how many curious listeners or how many people are just finding out about you. All you see is 'likes', 'shares' and 'comments'. But people can do any of those things without being a fan of your music. ListenPages allows you to understand your audience and know exactly what is required to move them closer toward becoming a true fan of yours. Our goal is to turn your fanbase into a raving audience full of true fans. Segment #3: Avoid This Music Industry Scam (Serious) In this segment, I want to tell you of a new scam that is targeting the music industry. A listener of the show contacted me and told me how she was almost scammed out of $60,000 from a group of kidnappers overseas. The worst part? There didn't seem to be any obvious red flags. It all seemed to be believable and trustworthy. She wanted me to tell her story on the podcast so that it might help other music artists avoid this scam. Of course, I want to do exactly that. This cannot be allowed. Details A listener of the show contacted me last week and asked to get on a call, saying that she was nearly scammed out of $60k and extorted by a group of kidnappers overseas. She said she wanted me to use my platform to warn other music artists of this new scam that is now targeting the music industry. While she was telling me the story on our phone call, I was waiting for the 'giant red flag'. Of course, I know that it's a scam, so from my perspective the red flags are usually obvious. But she was nearly finished telling me the story when I interrupted and said, 'Wait, where are the red flags?'. Someone discovered her and said they wanted to push her music to a label through an industry contact they had. Of course, this sounded too good to be true, so she decided to look into their organisation, label and personal accounts. Everything seemed to check out. Usually you'll find stuff that highlights a scam quite easily, but this group is clever. They organised multiple Skype calls with her to discuss her future in the industry and how they were going to help. Every call was further strengthening the idea that maybe, just maybe, this might be real -- and be the opportunity she was looking for. But, upon them asking for $60,000 to 'secure the label contract', she desired to hire a private investigator to make sure that these (seemingly legit) music industry types were trustworthy. It turns out that they were a group of kidnappers that not only take your life savings, but also capture and hold you until they can extort of all your personal assets. One guy lost $60,000 to this scam and was held for six months while they took his house and everything else of value he owned. This scam used to target other industries, but they've recently turned to the music industry. Be wary of every new face that contacts you, and if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Most importantly, be safe.